Decatur, Ill. - The Thunder baseball team saw its late rally fall just short on Friday night in the first of a three-game series at Millikin University. Both teams are now 1-1 in CCIW play with Wheaton falling to 11-7 overall and Millikin improving to 12-4 overall. The series will conclude with a doubleheader starting at 12 pm at Sunnyside Park in Decatur.
Millikin tallied its eight runs on 10 hits and made two errors. Wheaton scored six runs on 12 hits with three defensive miscues. In a battle of undefeated pitchers,
Christian Bolhuis took his first loss of the season, allowing seven runs, three earned, in five innings of work. Millikin's Logan Talkington earned teh win, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits in 5.2 innings of work.
The Big Blue landed the first blow of the game, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first inning and cracked the scoreboard first when a two-out error extended the inning for a two-out, three-run home run by Jake Stanton in the bottom of the second inning.

Wheaton came back with a run in the top of the third inning when
Clay Morrison (PICTURED RIGHT) singled home
Johnny Peltz with two outs.
John McKenna's two-out home run in the top of the fourth inning cut the lead down to 3-2. Millikin responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to push the lead back to 5-2.
Morrison singled home Peltz again in the top of the sixth inning but the Big Blue used a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to push the lead to 7-3. Wheaton threatened again in the top of the seventh inning, loading the bases with one out, but was unable to bring home a run.
John McKenna singled home a run in the top of the eighth inning but stranded runners at second and third, to trail 7-4.
Millikin added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the lead 8-4 heading to the ninth inning.
Ben Brittain's led off the inning with a double and quickly came in to score on a single by
Peter Newman. Newman would advance to second on
Seth Meyer's single and came in to score when
Brett Albaugh ripped a single up the middle, putting runners on the corners with one out. Millikin would shut down the rally from there, stranding the tying run on first base to earn the 8-6 win.
Clay Morrison and
John McKenna each collected three hits with McKenna driving in two runs and Morrison recording one RBI.
Peter Newman had two hits and
Johnny Peltz scored two runs.